13.04.2012

Food-poisoning bacteria found in supermarket chicken

Which? tested whole chickens and chicken portions from nine supermarkets in March 2012. Of the 192 samples:
one in five were contaminated with campylobacter. 17% were contaminated with listeria, with 4% containing levels of listeria classed as high by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). 1.5% tested positive for salmonella.
The Which? study was a snapshot, testing chicken samples from all the major retailers – Aldi, Asda, The Co-operative, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.
Although not a directly comparable test, the Which? results indicate an improvement on 2009, when the FSA found that 65% of fresh chickens it tested were contaminated with campylobacter at the point of sale (Which - consumer group).